This training was made possible through funding received from the European Union

Training based on finalised anti-migrant smuggling manual piloted under the Impact Project

Rabat, 27-30 October 2009

The Impact Programme aims at assisting African states in strengthening their criminal justice response to migrant smuggling, and currently consists of three regional projects that cover North and West Africa.

In the framework of the
Impact Programme UNODC in cooperation Europol, INTERPOL and SOCA elaborated a Basic Training Manual on Investigating and Prosecuting Migrant Smuggling. Between December 2008 and June 2009, three working meetings were organized in
Senegal ,
Egypt and
Nigeria respectively involving investigators and prosecutors from 30 countries, representing both common and civil law countries from Europe, Africa, North America and the Pacific region.

In short, the Training Manual covers the following thematic areas:

Concepts and categories of migrant smuggling

Role of smuggled migrants and migrant smugglers in investigations

Investigative approaches

Financial investigation

Covert investigative techniques

Intelligence

Legislative issues

International cooperation, and

Human rights

These chapters are complemented by an example of a witness statement (Annex A), some basic considerations to be taken at the start of a migrant smuggling investigation (Annex B on Planning and Strategizing) and a glossary of terms.

The purpose of this Basic Training Manual is threefold. First, it has been designed to be a reference tool for self-studying purposes that provides a basic introduction into the subject of investigating and prosecuting migrant smuggling. Secondly, it was conceptualized for use in delivering training to investigators and prosecutors. Finally, Manual has been designed in such a way that individual modules can be adapted to the needs of different regions and countries, and can serve as the basis for upgrading or supplementing training programs of national training institutes.

Based upon this training manual, UNODC in cooperation with OCRIEST - the French law enforcement body responsible for investigating migrant smuggling - and JIRS - the French prosecutorial body specialized in fighting organized crime - delivered a three-day training course on migrant smuggling for 22 Moroccan prosecutors. This training was the first of a series of trainings for investigators and prosecutors that will be implemented under the Impact Programme both on a national and regional level in North and West Africa over a period of 12 months. Europol will continue to actively support this undertaking.